Heading home

The soldiers of Mentoring Task Force Four have begun to head for home. They're being drawn down over a period of weeks. As each group leaves they'll spend somewhere around a week at the Al Minhad Airbase near Dubai before they climb on the final flight home.

It's an important break. They hand back gear, go through medical checks and process paperwork, but the time is also crucially important and it's called decompression. The soldiers have some R&R, spend some time relaxing and also spend the time getting used to the idea of being back at home.

They do psychological screening and have time to talk through their experiences with their mates and colleagues who know what they've experienced and understand what they've been through. In the 1960s and 70s, Vietnam veterans were shipped directly home – from the jungle to Pitt Street in Sydney within 24 hours. The process is believed to have increased the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Decompression is an important process but there's no doubt everyone is keen to get that next plane. Everyone wants to get home to their families. I asked them what they won't miss and they all said "Dust!" and that was followed by "Wearing thongs in the shower."

After only three weeks 'in country', I felt the same way.

I would like to thank all the people in Afghanistan and the UAE who so generously allowed me into their living spaces and working lives, shared their experiences and the wonderful bond that exists on the frontline. Thanks to the people who became my friends and looked out for me. Thank you to the troops who protected us while we were there and allowed us to visit and report on the work that is being done. Many thanks to all the people who sent in questions and comments, it was a unique experience.

Snapped: Captain Luke Foster

I met Luke Foster as he was returning from the front line. Australian Defence Force psychologists go out to the troops on a regular basis and when there has been a traumatic event too. Early intervention is believed to help reduce the impact of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

As a military psychologist on Operation Slipper I provide mental health support to ADF personnel. It is a privilege being able to sit and speak with the guys and girls that are out there doing the job on the ground, and in some instances helping them out - pretty rewarding stuff.

Captain Luke Foster

Keeping in touch with home

Every Australian base has 'welfare phones' or a 'welfare room' where phones and computers are freely available for use at any time. Usually, there's a row of booths and each one has a phone and computer in it. Dialling home is basically a direct call to Australia and there is no time limit on the calls.

Wireless internet access is also available at every Australian base, so soldiers can use the welfare computers or connect to the network from their laptop. A lot of people call home via video chat software to see their family.

Postage is also free for troops, both coming and going from Australia. So, people in Afghanistan can send packages for free within certain size restrictions and families and friends can send care packages to Afghanistan for free too. Apparently the number one item is lollies and small luxuries along those lines.

Care packages don't just come from people who know someone deployed in Afghanistan. The troops are sent letters and care packages from schoolchildren and other Australians. They're often addressed to 'An Australian Soldier'. The packages are made up of a wide range of items like socks, books and lollies. One person I spoke to received a care package with tins of sardines and cotton buds in it. It was sent by a Vietnam veteran who explained in a letter that in Vietnam soldiers ate a lot of sardines for the protein and were always wishing for cotton buds to clean the sand and dust out of their ears.

It's amazing to see how many people write and send packages just wanting to let Aussie troops know they're being supported and appreciated. It means a great deal to the troops. The letters are often up on pin boards for everyone to share. Units also write back to classes of schoolchildren and tell them about life here and send photos.

There's a group called 'Hero Quilts' which emails or writes to Aussie soldiers to find out what they're interested in and then make them a quilt and send it over. So, if you support a certain sporting team or you have a particular interest they'll make a quilt to match. The support is greatly valued by the Diggers.

Australia's reconstruction work

Kathy McLeish has phoned in to tell 612 ABC Brisbane's Craig Zonca about her experiences in Tarin Kot, observing the work of a provincial reconstruction team. Listen to the interview.

Kabul

June 24, 2012We arrived at the Kabul Afghanistan International Airport, known as KAIA. The airport opens on to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base. Fifty nations make up the international coalition and it seems they may all be represented on this base there are so many different uniforms, languages and accents. The ISAF Headquarters are based in Kabul.

I visited the KAIA base, where the various countries maintain offices and the residential buildings are located for the coalition. We also travelled to the ISAF Headquarters several kilometres down the road. Once again we travel in full combat body armour, in an armoured vehicle, with a military escort. We also visited the Afghan Artillery School where Australian soldiers have mentored the Afghan National Army in the establishment of the school and the ANA are now leading that role, training its own soldiers with Australians in an advisory role.

Kabul is alive with people and colour in the late afternoon. As we drove through the city the streetscape varies wildly between modern city and provincial style ramshackle wooden shopfronts and homes; affluence and harsh poverty. Modern cars make way for donkey-drawn carts on the road. On the main thoroughfare I didn’t see any traffic lights and the cars sort of merge around each other at intersections with relaxed police good-naturedly but possibly ineffectively directing cars through at some cross-roads.

At the intersections, kids wash car windows for money. Some men and women approach the cars to ask for money too. There’s a range of people in western clothes, traditional clothes, women in burqas along the street. There are adults going about their business at the shopfronts while children play on the footpaths. Rapid population growth has brought huge pressure to the city, creating issues in accommodation, infrastructure and employment. From 1.5 million people in 2001, around 5 million people live there today.

Snapped: Sgt Timothy Douglas

Timothy Douglas is a communications officer with the Australian Defence Force, currently in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan.

I've been deployed for two months. Not long after I left my second son was born.

I got to see the birth of my first son, so it was very much a different experience from the first one. You can't be there to hold her hand or rub her back or assure her. You can assure her over the phone but it's not the same as being there in person.

At least I had the ability to communicate while she was having him so that was good, on the phone the whole time. I got to hear him as he came out, so it was pretty cool.

Once the job's done, I'm looking forward to getting home and finally meeting my second son, and seeing my first son again, and my wife obviously.

Sgt Timothy Douglas

Building up the country

June 22, 2012

Australian troops operate in three main centres in Afghanistan: Kandahar, Uruzgan and Kabul. Camp Baker is in Kandahar Province, near the city of Kandahar, inside the massive Kandahar Airfield Base. Around 35,000 coalition troops are based there and about 250 of them are Australians.

Medical evacuation choppers and medical staff are based there. Resources and supplies are also handled out of Camp Baker and shipped through to other Australian bases in Afghanistan.

The bases range from large established bases to very small and basic Forward Operating Bases.

Road travel is so dangerous in Afghanistan, because of the risk of improvised explosive devices, that it's not an option. People and resources are transported to other bases by Chinook Helicopters or C-130 Hercules planes if there's an airstrip.

I spent a day with one of the Townsville-based Rotary Wing Group Chinook crews in Kandahar. The big workhorses are fitted with mini-guns as a defensive measure and full combat body armour is a must. As the choppers move from base to base and people get on and off, you get a sense of the phenomenal range of organisations and nations that are represented in Afghanistan at this time. There are 50 nations in the coalition taskforce, crossing an enormous range of defence organisations and government and aid organisations. Working alongside the military operation is a widespread reconstruction effort.

There are Australian forward operating bases in Kandahar and they're mentoring the Afghan National Army there but Australia's biggest presence in Afghanistan is in Tarin Kot in Uruzgan Province, where Australia is about to take over the lead role for the multi-national military presence there. The change will occur in the leadership; Australian Commanders will step into the lead roles. For the troops, little will change.

As well as a coalition military presence in each province, there's also a provincial reconstruction effort. The Provincial Reconstruction Team for Uruzgan is based at Tarin Kot. The group is made up of government and aid organisations like AusAID working closely with groups like non-government aid organisations and also with the Uruzgan Provincial Government, to rebuild the province. In Uruzgan, the challenges are many.

I arrived at Tarin Kot at the end of a very long day but managed to catch up with the deputy director of development and stabilisation for AusAID in Uruzgan, Jeremy Guthrie. He'd had a long week, was tired, dirty and sported a five-day growth. It was a bit of an ask to hit him up for an interview, but it's the first time an AusAID representative in Afghanistan has spoken to the media about the work there and I was keen to catch him while he was on the base.

He says Uruzgan is one the poorest provinces in Afghanistan.

"Health levels are very low, education levels are very low, literacy rates are some of the lowest in the world, so as a place to be born it's a tough place to live. A lot of the population depend on subsistence agriculture; it's a very dry and arid province, a very mountainous province. They're a long way from services; they're a long way from markets so it is a very challenging place to live and a very tough environment."

According to Jeremy Guthrie, after 40 years of violent struggle in Afghanistan, the usual connections between local, provincial and national governments have, at times, become disconnected and he says that's certainly been the case for Uruzgan.

What that means is the province had received very little attention and the roll-on effect is extensive. The Provincial Reconstruction Team is working to assist in rebuilding agriculture in the province, providing technical knowledge and assistance to farmers to help stimulate economic activity. But roads are a problem. It can take six hours to travel a short distance, so getting produce to market is almost impossible and a basic road system needs to be constructed.

Jeremy Guthrie says the work of the Reconstruction Team centres around laying down the basic foundations required for government to begin to work effectively so that living standards can be improved. Building projects have included schools and government buildings aimed at connecting the people with their government.

The Provincial Reconstruction Team is also mentoring accountable and transparent governance. In an assessment of the effectiveness of PRT aid programs in Uruzgan, the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the peak body for non-government aid agencies, found the Australian effort has generally had positive results, although it’s a complex area and there are a lot of factors to be considered.

A Unit from 3RAR is tasked with escorting other government agencies and non-government agencies working with them when needed, so they can do this work.

The unit plans each excursion with meticulous care. Everyone is kitted out in full combat body armour, helmet and ballistic eyewear and equipment clipped to vests, in case the vehicle is hit by an IED (improvised explosive device). Clipping anything loose to your vest means loose items won't become projectiles in the event of an explosion. It’s a measured and careful operation and the soldiers are well-trained and professional. Concerns have been raised by aid agencies that being linked with the military in this way may have a negative effect on their work, but for Uruzgan Province, the 2010 ACFID Report found no indication that was the case where the Australians were concerned. Jeremy Guthrie says AusAID is in for the long haul and the Australian Government has committed to increase theoverall assistance to Afghanistan to around $250m by 2015.

Snapped: Padre Joel Vergara

Joel Vergara is a Catholic Padre with the Australian Defence Force, currently in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan.

I'm here if people need to talk. I loiter with intent. I hold mass at 12 o'clock every day. Often I'm the only one there but I still hold mass and pray for the safety of everyone here. It's my job.

'Relief in place' at Tarin Kot

After a half day of lengthy military travel, we arrived in Tarin Kot, which is in Uruzgan Province. The Australian Mentoring Task Force is based here.

MTF-4 is about to complete its deployment and the 3RAR Battle Group is bumping in. The process is called Relief in Place or 'the RIP'. As a result, both contingents are based here for the handover/takeover and the base is bulging at the seams.

It's a multinational base and there are a similar number of US soldiers and also some from Singapore and Slovakia. It's a bustling, busy place with soldiers and vehicles everywhere and as with the other bases I've been to there's a real camaraderie among the troops.

The base is called Tarin Kot or Tarin Kowt – both names and spellings are used. It's in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, so it's at a higher altitude than Kandahar and cooler, thankfully. The base is set in the Tarin Kot bowl and it literally is a bowl of rolling plains surrounded by magnificent, sharply ridged mountains which create beautiful vistas. The sunsets and sunrises are breathtaking.

By contrast, the Tarin Kot Base is dusty and dry, busy and bunkered. It's at the centre of the front-line for Australia and that's evident. Every building is bomb-proof and surrounded by bunker walls, including the chapel. The briefing on arrival is confronting, making it clear that security risks are extremely high.

From Tarin Kot, the soldiers deploy out to forward operating bases and from there patrol local areas, engage with locals and mentor the Afghan National Army as it engages with insurgents. As of July 1, they'll be stepping back into an advisory role and the ANA will take the lead. The risks are very high for them. IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and weapon fire are a significant, serious and on-going threat. The RIP is a particularly tense time.

Back on the base we're also told there's a water shortage, so we need to keep showers to a maximum of two minutes, no flushing unless necessary and tourniquets to be carried at all times.

The accommodation is vault-like because it's fortified to withstand rocket attacks. There are four bunks to a room. Soldiers share with three other people for the six months they're deployed here. They're not big rooms and there is very little storage space. They tell me there are strategies for living in such close quarters. I haven't been here long enough to learn them and after two nights my roomies are ready to kick me out.

Above the base, and basically in the centre of the bowl, a hill rises gently above the landscape and from there you can see the village of Tarin Kot.

The earthen walls in the town seem ancient and the town looks peaceful, but the risk of IEDs, suicide bombers, indirect fire and aerial attack is much higher for Afghan civilians.

According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, 3,021 civilians died as a result of the conflict in 2011 and that number has increased each year since the organisation began documenting the toll five years ago. 11,864 civilians have been killed in the conflict since 2007 and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes.

Afghan National Army parade

June 17, 2012

This morning we kitted up in full combat body armour, met with our armed escort, climbed into an armoured vehicle and headed 'outside the wire'. Traversing the exit gates from Kandahar Air Field requires a journey through winding lanes of bomb-proof concrete 't-walls', which are huge cement slabs that are wider at the base. They are everywhere at Kandahar Air Field – known as KAF. We passed through a number of checkpoints and tensions are clearly high around the gates. IDs are checked and double-checked. It's a multinational base, so soldiers from a range of countries provide the security.

Outside the wire is a hotchpotch of makeshift shops and homes strung along the road. It's dirty and run-down and has sprung up around the base. We drove past a two-storey building with smashed windows. It looks wrecked and abandoned, but apparently it's a functioning school. Beyond that are several apartment buildings which house the Afghan National Army troops based nearby. They've been struck by indirect fire in the past and the damage is evident in smashed roofs and several collapsed sections.

About three kilometres and another tense clearance at security later, we entered Forward Operating Base (FOB) Lindsey. It's similar to KAF but a smaller version and a little more relaxed. Huge army vehicles move through the compound. Everyone is in body armour. The 205th CAT (Coalition Advisory Team) is based here. As we turned into the Australian compound it was immediately clear we were in the right place. A gum tree draped green shady leaves over the front verandah and a kangaroo sign is clearly displayed beside the door. Australians seem to sprinkle touches of home around their environment more liberally than the other nations and it's really lovely when you come across them.

The 205th CAT is advising the leadership of the ANA, which is based next door at Camp Hero. After meeting the crew at the Australian base we piled back into an armoured vehicle to head over for the ANA weekly parade. Once again security was high and while I was given freedom to move around the parade ground and film the ANA soldiers, it was with an Australian armed escort close beside me.

The line of soldiers stretched at least 50 metres across the parade ground in rows 6 deep. A small military band struck up as the officers entered the field. An interpreter translated the Commander's address to the troops for me. He told the soldiers they were building a nation that would see children going to school, an improvement in health and employment and general living conditions.

I spoke to Lt Col Brendan Cox, who is mentoring the ANA Chief of Staff at Camp Hero. He says the ANA soldiers don't need to be taught to be warriors; they've been at war for decades. He says where the ANA has taken the lead role it is working effectively. Now, mentoring is required in the areas of organisation and training. There's also a focus now on developing the Afghan police force so that the Afghan Armed Forces can step back from providing day-to-day security. That has lagged behind the mentoring and development of the armed forces.

The concerns centre mainly on the Afghan Local Police. Locals are recruited to provide a police role if the ANA and the Afghan National Police are not in sufficient numbers to do so. In 2011, the United Nations reported major concerns with the process, including inappropriate influence by local powerbrokers and violence and intimidation by Afghan Local Police forces in some areas. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) responded by promising to improve conduct, accountability and oversight of the Local Police through closer mentoring, training and more stringent vetting and recruitment processes.

Defence Authorities say those issues will ultimately be resolved. For the people of Afghanistan those issues won't be resolved soon enough.

At a recent NATO conference in Chicago in May, governments committed to long-term support beyond withdrawal at the end of 2014. The challenges are many.

Stability and development go hand in hand and stability in Afghanistan will be a very long-term task. While improvements have been made, they started from a very low base. I've been told there are six times more schools than there were a decade ago. However, Afghanistan still has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world, one in ten children die before the age of five and the drug trade makes up 30 per cent of the economy, helping fund the insurgency.

Any social, economic or security programs will need to be sustainable and in a country where about 60 per cent of men and 90 per cent of women don't read and reliable electricity is often a problem, things like computer-based management or inventory systems won't be a sustainable solution.

Increasing literacy is a challenge. According to Lt Col Cox, ANA soldiers are being taught to read, but in a country steeped in conflict, if you congregate soldiers you create a target. So schools for the military are not an option and reading programs are being developed for the field. Any solutions must be designed in a way that can be maintained and developed within the resources available.

Rocket alarm provides wake-up call

June 16-19, 2012

At 6.30am this morning Kandahar Airfield came under indirect fire and I was woken by the rocket alarm. Accommodation at the Australian Base, Camp Baker, is designed to withstand a rocket attack. The ‘Actions On’ procedure is to stay inside the accommodation until the ‘all clear’ is sounded and then report in so all Australian personnel can be accounted for. For me, that meant staying in bed for a few more minutes before getting up to report to the wardens, who were accounting for people in a room-to-room check, that I was on the base and unhurt. The rocket exploded near enough to the camp to be heard but not seen. No-one was hurt.

Australian troops are based in Kandahar, Uruzgan province and Kabul. When you arrive at each location every person must undergo a brief on the risks, threats and procedures for that location. I was told there hadn’t been a rocket attack since late April and the Air Base was well overdue. The frequency of attacks can range from 10 blasts in one night to several weeks apart. I was told the blasts seem to be coming further apart which could indicate that the coalition is getting better at intercepting the fire.

It set the theme for the day, because my first visit was to the Role 3 Military Hospital at Kandahar Air Field. The hospital is impressive. Run and staffed by members of the coalition, including Australians, it has an exceptional treatment capacity. If a wounded soldier arrives at the hospital with a heartbeat they have a 99 per cent chance of survival. We arrived on coloured-shirt day. The medical staff in this hospital deal with some very traumatic injuries and it can be tough. They look for opportunities to give people a lift. Coloured-shirt day is one of them.

The hospital deals with all sorts of medical requirements from diagnostics to surgery, optical and dental health, and has a comprehensive mental health department as well. It also treats the important military dogs that work with the troops in Afghanistan. It provides medical and psychological treatment for them too.

After that we went to the Wounded Warrior Project where recovering soldiers can access all the medical services they need during rehabilitation. It's important for two reasons: it helps ensure soldiers get access to the medical services they need efficiently; and, it means they can recover among people who understand exactly what they’re going through. It was there that I spoke to John Wisdom, a young 19-year-old soldier from the United States. John had miraculously survived a rocket attack on a lookout post he was standing in. He received shrapnel wounds to the face but was otherwise unhurt. Three other people around him were injured, including a young man whose back was broken when he was hurled against a wall.

John was reasonably unhurt physically but seemed to be still coming to terms with the shock of the experience. It's the second time he's been wounded in action on this deployment. Several weeks ago he was on patrol when one of his friends stood on an improvised explosive device, which resulted in devastating injuries including the loss of his legs. John and his team tried to save their mate, but his injuries were too severe and they couldn't keep him alive.

When John phoned his mum to tell her he'd been injured a second time it was too much for her and she refused to answer the phone. He spoke to his Dad who said, "That's two, you’re coming home now, right?" When John told him he won't be sent home unless he's injured a third time, his Dad was terribly upset. I asked John if he would deploy again. He said, "I definitely want to."

Your Questions Answered

June 22, 2012

Q Are troops involved in any community work other than peacekeeping? What do the Australian or allied forces do to help build the local communities' trust?

The military is working closely with the Provincial Reconstruction Team, which is made up of Australian Government organisations like AusAID working with NGO's. It's a significant element of the peacekeeping and stabilisation effort in Uruzgan province. Afghanistan started from a very low base when the coalition first arrived. There have been improvements but even after 10 years it still has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world, one in 10 children will die before the age of five, and 30 per cent of the economy is derived from the drug trade, which helps to fund insurgents. Uruzgan province, where the Australian Mentoring Taskforce is based, along with the United States and some Singaporean and Slovakian troops, is one of the poorest and most disadvantaged provinces in Afghanistan. In the past, it's received very little attention from the government in Kabul. The Provincial Reconstruction Team is working to foster local and provincial government and build links between them and Kabul. It's mentoring governance and transparency and accountability, and helping develop schools, health services, agriculture and to open up reliable roadways so farmers can take their produce to market which will assist in building the economy.

The military is applying its considerable expertise and resources to those infrastructure tasks, employing local builders but requiring building safety standards. The Army civil engineer I met with said they’re seeing improvements in the building work, so there's mentoring going on in many areas. There are now 300 schools; there were 10. Across the country the gains are slow. I haven't met with locally based aid organisations so I haven't been able to gauge their assessment of the work. I'll be interested to follow that up after the embed. There are many challenges and it is very long-term work. The biggest challenge will be making the improvements sustainable after the coalition mentors withdraw at the end of 2014. Defence authorities say it has envisaged support will continue in various forms after that.

Q What is the relationship like between the Afghan troops and the Australian troops?

From what I’ve seen it’s very good. Certainly the Australian’s I’ve spoken to, who are working with the Afghan National Army, are very supportive of the troops and have expressed a genuine commitment to their role as mentors. I’ve been told more than a few times that the Afghans are extremely brave people. One Australian officer I spoke to mentors leadership to an Afghani officer. He said the Afghan troops don’t need to be taught how to be warriors; they’re natural warriors. This land-locked country has been invaded for thousands of years. They do need mentoring in organisation, logistics, tactics and so on. But those skills will never be sustainable if the coalition tries to impose western methods like a one-size-fits-all solution. The western approach must be tailored to fit the Afghan people and the resources available to them and it must take into account local solutions that currently work, or adjust local solutions that could work better with western input.

In Uruzgan province, for instance, there is very little electricity available, so a computerised inventory system is not sustainable. On a one-on-one, level the Australian soldiers seem to have a very good relationship with the Afghani’s they’re mentoring.

Q Do you trust the afghans you work beside? There are a few reports of Taliban insiders.

'Green on blue' attacks are taken very seriously by the Australian Forces and the Afghan National Army and are considered an on-going threat. However, Defence authorities say the reasons for 'green on blue' attacks are complicated and often relate to complex cultural sensitivities that may have been inadvertently triggered. Processes have been put in place by both armies to try to minimise the risks and both armies are on alert for them. I haven’t had a chance to speak to Australian soldiers about that specifically, but when I ask them how they deal with the risk to their safety in Afghanistan in general, they all say they trust in their training, remain alert, minimise risk whenever possible and get on with the job.

Q What are some moments they've experienced friendship or gratitude from Afghan civilians? Conversely, what are some moments they've experienced resentment and hostility from Afghans, apart from actual violence? Were there any conscientious objectors to the Afghanistan operation? Was anyone considering conscientiously objecting? What are the best and utter worst parts of their job? Do they trust the US government?

I can't answer the first two questions yet, but I’ll ask around on those. However, on the third question I can tell you there are no Australian conscientious objectors because the Australian Defence Force doesn't have conscription. Everyone volunteers to deploy. As for the best part of the job, almost everyone I've asked has said that's being able to do the job they're trained for and many have said they're also very proud to be doing something for their country and/or to be supporting Australian combat troops. Without fail, everyone has said the worst part is being away from their families.

On the move

I've been offline for a few days but it's not because there's been nothing to report. Completely the opposite - it's been non-stop.

There is so much work going on here, so many projects and missions and so much infrastructure, we haven't stopped moving. On top of that there's the time it takes to move around. A one-hour flight can stop you in your tracks for more than half a day - and that's if your flight is on time and hasn't been delayed, cancelled or rescheduled.

'Bag drag' is anywhere from three hours to the night before and when you've handed over your bags, all your equipment is locked up. You can't carry hand luggage on the plane and frankly, it would be difficult to do so.

Every flight 'in country' requires that you wear your combat body armour and have no loose items, so pockets are stuffed and anything that can't clip on to your body armour can't travel with you.

Other security and safety measures include a scan at the airport, pretty much the same as what happens at home except for the fact that everyone is required to place guns and knives in a carry basket before going through the scanner. They can then collect their guns and knives on the other side of security and take them on the plane. Airport security in a war zone.

Internet can be a challenge. While the welfare internet that's provided free by Defence is fine for Skype and Facebook, for logging in from another computer like I am, it can vary from difficult to impossible. So, my apologies for not posting to the blog for a few days.

Kandahar: 'Picture a Mad Max movie'

June 18, 2012

After a 9am 'bag drag' we began the journey to Afghanistan. Flights from Al Minhad Air Base cross over Pakistan, through a small lane of airspace rented by the Australians. Several kilometres wide, it's Australia's aeronautical super-highway to and from Afghanistan.

Because there is no land access to Afghanistan from Australia's support base, people and resources are all transported by C-130 Hercs. It's a mighty effort. Because Hercules aircraft are so vital here, the crews who fly them and keep them in the air are automatically rotated into theatre, because they have to be here.

Kandahar Airfield (or KAF) is a melting pot of coalition forces. More than 35,000 defence personnel, contractors and associated government personnel are based here from a myriad of nations. About 250 of them are Australian. And it's dangerous for a number of reasons. Because it's such a huge base, a lot of people come and go; many of them are civilians. Security here is heavy and Australians always carry weapons when out on the main base.

KAF was described to me this way: "picture a Mad Max movie." And it’s a pretty accurate description. It's the busiest single-lane airstrip in the world but instead of a range of light aircraft and domestic jets, there are Chinooks, fighter jets, C-130 and C-170 Hercs, Black Hawks and other military aircraft coming and going, in the air and on the ground, constantly.

The dust here is a fine grey powder, almost finer than talc. The air is filled with it and every surface is coated in it, painting it all the same grey colour. The result is an almost desolate landscape effect.

The vehicles only add to the effect. ATVs, armoured four-wheel drives, military vehicles and ordinary cars all share the roads. Winding through the landscape, above and sometimes among the buildings is a makeshift-looking system of power lines. Most of the roads aren't paved, adding to the dust. Within the main compounds are smaller compounds, each one with a wall around it, and each country has its own. We are at Australia's Camp Baker.

The main threat at KAF comes from 'indirect fire' - rockets which are launched into the airbase by insurgents. On arrival at any base of post in Afghanistan, everyone receives a briefing laying out the standard operating procedure for minimising harm from threats for that particular area. Here at Camp Baker we were given a run-through on the procedure in the case of a rocket attack. When the alarm sounds, lay on the ground for two minutes and then move to a bunker. The reason for lying on the ground is that when rockets hit, fragmentation sprays out and if you're low to the ground there's more chance it will spray above you. The bunkers obviously make sense – and they are everywhere on bases in Kandahar.

With more than 30,000 occupants, KAF is like a small city. In amongst it all is the Boardwalk and it's a must-see, and quite surreal. You literally step up from the war zone landscape into a very basic but relaxed entertainment and shopping area. The boardwalk is built in the shape of a square. In the centre is a running track, a soccer field and a hockey rink. A verandah surrounds the area and a range of food and gift shops open on to that.

Camp Baker is quite small, comprising a small row of accommodation blocks with names like Coogee and Surfers, plus a few other associated buildings and sheds. As soon as we get in the gate, the Aussie touches are obvious – a volleyball court, the swagman's bar (although here it serves near-beer, not the real stuff because alcohol is not permitted on deployment) and other essentially Aussie images. After the long journey, there's a real sense of being back in the fold.

Snapped: Leading Seaman Kevin Paul

Leading Seaman Kevin 'Curly' Paul instructs Australian troops at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates before they are deployed to Afghanistan. He specialises in counter-improvised explosive device training.

Every time someone gets injured it's a blow to our force so ... if we can continually train and improve our training then hopefully we can reduce those numbers even further.

The last bit of training they can get is that reality check, so moving forward it then puts them in good stead. They're in the right mindset prior to getting to Afghanistan.

Leading Seaman Kevin Paul

Inside a military zone

June 17, 2012

There are challenges associated with living inside a military zone. At Al Minhad Airbase right now, the biggest one is the unrelenting heat. There's no time that it cools off and no respite.

In the middle of the night it's around 27 degrees or higher. From 8.25 and to 8.30am it usually shoots up from 30 to 35 and keeps climbing. On one of the days I was here it went to 57 degrees. That's more than halfway to boiling point.

Any outside activity has to be strategically structured to try to reduce the time in the sun and if possible include occasional dives into air-conditioned oases. Fridges full of water bottles are found in every building and beside them are stacks of water bottles. And there's a system; take a cold one out, put a hot one in. In Afghanistan the same applies at various times of the years. At other times its freezing or it snows.

There's a second language in a military zone. Acronyms! Military people shorten everything to acronyms and they speak it fluently, the rest of us just have to try and keep up. And if everything is right, you're set, you know what you’re doing, something is ready or has been organised – it's all "good to go".

The time difference with Australia is just inconvenient. Depending where you are here and there, Australia is about six or seven hours ahead of the MEAO (Middle East Area of Operations). So the working day at home is half over when everyone here is waking up, leaving a small window of time to contact Australia during business hours. If you miss getting something important by 10.00am, you have to wait until the next day or get up in the middle of the night.

I’ve completely lost track of the days and a sense of time too. I've been here for almost a week and it feels like 10 minutes. Everyone here seems to be in the same boat. It seems to stem from the fact that days aren't particularly structured like at home. Everyone is working either on a roster or working when they’re needed and taking downtime when they can. Most people I’ve talked to aren’t sure what day it is.

Then there's OPSEC or Operational Security. Remember all those old posters from the second World War warning people that “loose lips sink ships”? Well, it’s very much alive and well inside this war zone.

Around the base there are reminders that giving out information about what’s happening here, like flight dates and times, numbers of people, aircraft, information about troop movements, puts lives at risk. For the people stationed in the MEAO that means what they can tell their families about what they’re doing is restricted. Instead they can only give vague answers about what they’re doing, where they’ll be going, who they’re working with. OPSEC affects everyone of course, including journalists. Especially journalists, probably.

For me that means that material has to be checked before it's released to ensure I don’t post photos on the internet showing classified information or people with protected identities and that I don’t write or say something that gives away information that could put troops at risk or cause the cancellation of a mission. But it also means people working in the MEAO are cautious about giving on the record interviews because they are aware of the risks. The ADF (Australian Defence Force) makes no apologies for the restrictions. It says it won’t take any chances with Australian lives. But it is a particularly strict policy and there are many who believe it’s a defensive stance by the organisation and over-protective. The British and US Defence Forces allow much more freedom to media.

On the other side of the ledger, I’ve been free to move around and if it’s not an official interview everyone has been very open about their views and life on the front line. There's been no pressure to present a certain angle or change any material. It does take some getting used to though and it makes it hard for people here to really explain to their families what they’re doing here and what life’s like on a daily basis for them.

Your questions answered

June 15, 2012

Readers have been sending Kathy McLeish questions about Australia's mission in Afghanistan. Here she provides some answers.

Q What positive impact do the troops think they are making? Do they think we should stay?

The impression I get from people I’ve spoken to is that they believe passionately in what they're doing. That includes soldiers, Australian Federal Police, AusAid workers and government administrative staff who have all volunteered to be in Afghanistan. They have a strong belief they are supporting their country and they hope to make a difference for the people of Afghanistan, where conditions in health, education and employment are very poor. However, I do also understand that some feel Afghanistan will be under an extreme increase in pressure from insurgents when the coalition withdraws.

Defence authorities here say the Afghan Army and other organisations are performing well now that the mentoring task is being replaced by the advisory phase and the Afghans are taking on the roles. I understand support will continue beyond 2014 and I'll be finding out more about that soon.

Q What do Australian troops actually do day to day? Are they actually engaged in war or just peacekeeping/rebuilding?

They are engaged in all of the above. Securing territory from insurgents, peacekeeping and reconstruction. Under the advisory phase the coalition forces will step back and allow Afghan nationals to take over the tasks. The coalition forces, aid agencies and federal police will assume an advisory role.

Q. Does shit really happen?

Yes. The ADF believes 1,000 improvised explosive devices are being produced each month to target coalition forces, Afghan national authorities and civilians. Small arms fire is also frequently exchanged.

Q. Do our troops have the top-of-the-range protective equipment they require?

The ADF says yes. The McBas and TBas body armour is top of the line. It is at the very high end of protection but not too cumbersome for moving quickly if you have to.

Q. Do the troops still have to buy their own kit?

The troops are issued their equipment. However, if they want a different type of boot, there are others available for purchase.

What would you like Kathy to find out about Australia's mission in Afghanistan? Leave a comment, or ask your question on Twitter, Facebook or Reddit.

Snapped: Private Tim Locke

June 15, 2012

Private Tim Locke comes from a military family. He's stationed at Al Minhad Air Base and is keen to be deployed to Afghanistan.

I like the fact that we're actually fighting for the freedoms that our previous ancestors did.

My uncle was killed in 2007 and he had a forward operating base named after him. I'd like to get out there.

The risks come with the job and you've just got to soldier on.

Private Tim Locke

Insurgents detained

June 14, 2012

Following the news that a soldier from MTF-4 has been injured by an improvised explosive device, we've heard the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) and the Australian Special forces Operations Task Group (SOTG) detained several key insurgents in May.

A number of insurgent commanders were also detained by the joint operations and the Defence Force says it believes the task forces netted some of those responsible for a suicide bomb attack at Tarin Kot on May 20, 2012. Two coalition soldiers were killed in that attack and eight others were wounded.

A spokesman from Special Operations, who cannot be named for security reasons, said: "The insurgents detained are suspected of being experienced improvised explosive device builders, including suicide bombs and facilitators".

He said the removal of the insurgent commanders was a significant result which would impact insurgent leadership.

He said the ongoing pressure of these operations was breaking down insurgent networks and lowering insurgent morale, reducing their effectiveness and in turn making Uruzgan safer.

"We are likely to see the halting of operations and a reduction in the frequency of insurgent attacks because of the loss of these commanders," the spokesman said.

Bad news

June 14, 2012

We've just received word here that a soldier from Mentoring Task Force Four was wounded on June 12.

He was on a Coalition-supported patrol in the Charmestan Valley in Uruzgan province.

The patrol was working with an Australian Bushmaster Vehicle and he was injured when the Bushmaster struck an improvised explosive device (IED).

Acting Chief of Joint Operations Rear Admiral Steve Gilmore said: "Fortunately, the soldiers wounds were superficial. He was provided first-aid on site and then evacuated by Blackhawk helicopter to a Role 2 medical facility at Multi National Beas Tarin Kot".

We've been told the soldier has spoken to his family, who will have been greatly relieved to have heard he is in a satisfactory condition and should return to duties soon.

Over the years, I've spoken to many families who have had a family member on deployment and I know when this sort of news goes out it affects everyone.

'Hi mum'

Final drills

June 9, 2012

The most gruelling day yet. We assembled at 5.00am because we would be spending three hours out in the sun on the 'IED Lane'.

It's a large field set up to provide training scenarios for recognising the signs related to improvised explosive devices, either in the ground or on people, and for ensuring an area is clear of the risks before entering.

We were shown a range of IEDs, all capable of inflicting devastating injuries if they were to detonate and send ball-bearings or fragments of metal ripping through everything in their path.

IEDs are the biggest threat in Afghanistan, followed by small arms fire.

The trainers detonated a small IED and even from a distance the concussive wave pounded in our chests and the bang resonated in our ears.

For me, it was a reality check on how terrifying it would be if you were up close and it was unexpected.

It also brought home the importance of the drills which followed.

The shock that follows an IED attack can be paralysing and if it is accompanied by small arms fire, it's compounded.

Soldiers are drilled to stay clear-headed through critical situations and it's no different with this training.

The combat medical training completes with drills in a building set up to simulate an IED incident and small arms attack.

There are flashing lights, loud noises and the sound of gunshots.

The task is to rescue an IED victim while shots are being exchanged, apply first aid and call for rescue.

You can't fail this part of the course. If you don't get it right the first time, you just repeat it until you do.

This kind of drilling saves lives. All personnel, including civilians going into the war zone are now trained to treat themselves or someone else.

In the past, only medics have had the training but that caused delays in first aid if there were multiple casualties or no medic in the area.

Now, everyone is equipped with the skills to stop massive bleeding, open airways and stabilise chest wounds.

They are also trained to call for help and give vital medical information to rescue crews.

While it has been a sobering experience, bringing home the reality of the risks ahead, everyone is very pleased to have learned the skills and had a chance to try them out in conditions that in some way resemble what you might have to deal with if it were the real thing.

Afghanistan will be cooler apparently, with highs up to 40 degrees at this time of year. I'm wondering how I'll cope with 25 kilograms of body armour and I'm in awe of the combat soldiers who patrol in that kit.

It's a real challenge for them and for Defence. Being able to run fast saves lives in a war zone, and so does body armour.

Finding the balance has been a challenge but the Australian Defence Force believes it has come up with the right combination in the body armour it is issuing and the need to wear it is driven home in training.

The base has the feel of a small Australian oasis. The accommodation buildings are named for places at home: Marysville, Newcastle, Bottlebrush.

There's a sign at the front gate saying "Bonnie Doon. How's the serenity". There's a gift shop, appropriately named Aladdin's Cave, which sells a range of items from toiletries and essentials to souvenirs from Dubai, and there's a coffee shop.

While it was a little surreal ordering an iced coffee frappe at 'Bean Around the MEAO' (Middle East Area of Operations and pronounced ME-OH), it was incredibly welcome.

Contact with home is important too. Phones and internet access are freely available on the base and throughout most of the MEAO, where possible.

I spoke to families who had someone heading off to Afghanistan and to soldiers who have deployed and they all talked about the amount of contact that's possible in the digital age through things like mobile phones, email, Skype and social networking.

But some things never change. Everyone I've spoken to here who is about to be deployed has said the thing they are most looking forward to is mail, because they can read and re-read a letter any time, anywhere.

Getting battle ready

Shower (three minutes maximum for water conservation). Stop at the laundry to drop my clothes in the washing machine (I only have three sets of clothes because of the need to travel light – and I've been told to wash clothes whenever I get a chance). Breakfast at the mess (wash your hands and use hand sanitiser – no exceptions! This one is about reducing the risk of disease, colds, flu, gastro etc. and it's taken very seriously).

Breakfast is great. In fact, eating is great. The food is good, there's a wide range of it and someone else cooks it for you.

Our course begins by 7.30am. Today the training involves detailed briefings of the threats in Afghanistan. Yesterday we were fitted for body armour. Today it was issued to us and we were taught how to assemble it.

It weighs around 25 kilograms. That's a lot of extra weight to be carrying around in 40-degree heat along with any other kit you need in the field.

However, everyone is glad to have it and if anyone had any doubts about wearing it, they were quickly dismissed in the next session.

Former combat medics provide medical training on how to care for battle casualties. The trainers don't gild the lily. There's straight talk about the reality of being wounded or helping wounded people in the field and it's followed up with drills.

It's their job to ensure that if things go bad, you and the people around you will know exactly what to do and everyone will do it by rote, with no hesitation.

These guys are proud of what they do and the record of Australian combat medics. They say depending on the situation and location, the time from injury to airlift can be as fast as 30 minutes.

Improvised explosive devices or IEDs are a significant threat in Afghanistan and so 'Explosives Hazard Awareness Training and Protection' rounded out the day and brought together a lot of what we'd learnt.

Once again, the day doesn't end until around 9pm. But tomorrow is a day off.

Initial training begins at Al Minhad Airbase, UAE

After 23 hours of flying we finally arrived in the UAE. The Defence flight to bring personnel into the Middle East operates like a milk run, collecting personnel from a range of cities, so we'd flown for 10 hours without leaving the country.

There was one positive side affect. Any nervous anticipation about coming to a war zone was gone by the time we finally touched ground, I was so happy to be off the plane.

My fellow passengers felt the same; we were all very happy to be here. I travelled with some of the Townsville-based 3RAR combat soldiers who are on their way to join the Battle Group in Afghanistan. They'll do a handover with combat troops from the Brisbane-based 8, 9 RAR from 7th Brigade, who will soon be on their way home.

The Australian Task Force in Afghanistan is switching to the Transition Phase, which will now be known as the Advisory Phase. There's a real range of Defence roles and other organisations represented on the flight.

AusAid has been in Afghanistan since 2009 working with the Provincial Reconstruction Team, which mentors Afghanistan nationals in providing services like managed works and training programs.

The Australian Federal Police are mentoring Afghan National Police and there are also government administrative officers deploying to help ensure the soldiers get paid and provide administration. All of these people have put their hands up for deployment.

The relief everyone felt to be back on terra firma was short-lived.

We're on military schedules now and despite the fact we've arrived in the middle of the night, from the plane we're immediately processed, briefed, given keys to our rooms, packed off for showers, breakfast and told to report back for our first training session.

Nobody 'goes forward' to Afghanistan without doing the preparation training for the Middle East Area of Operations.

Even the 3RAR combat troops, who have been training for six months are put through the paces, but not with us.

The training schedule for the first day is long and we're told to "push through" to 10:00pm before sleeping because it's our best hope of recovering from jet lag quickly.

Minhad Airbase (AMAB) is the staging post for Australian Defence operations in Afghanistan.

So from here, resources and people are moved in and out of the area. It's here that the combat boys get battle ready.

It's a process that was described to me as "putting on your game face" and that seems a pretty fair description.

We were given frank and straightforward information about the threats in Afghanistan and strategies for reducing the threats. It's a pretty sobering experience.

Keeping up with the military requires assimilation too and that's something I'll be happy to have mastered before I go 'in country'.

It was a long, long day and nobody on my course made it past 9pm before crashing into a dazed, exhausted and very welcome sleep.

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